Red Sun
by articulomortis85
Summary: A year after the Volturi came to Forks to punish the Cullens for having an immortal child, Alice receives a vision from her past. It appears that Alice's past is catching up to her and she has to uncover the truth of her creation before any harm comes.
1. Chapter 1

Visions.

It has been a year since my family was sent through a literal hell trying to defend the life of the child we all love so dearly. I walked through the glass doors into the kitchen and could hear my family sitting in the living room talking. Bella's father Charlie was over, as had become a habit for him over the last year. He was talking to my father Carlisle about his recent bout of heart burn. Carlisle is a doctor at the local hospital here in Forks, Washington. He is the most compassionate person I've ever met. My mother, Esme, reminds me so much of the mothers I've seen on television so often. She is caring, sweet, funny, and protective over her adoptive children. I knew from the first moment I saw them I would one day be their child. Of course they already had three other children: Edward, Rosalie and Emmett. Edward and I are close, really close, he understands me and watches over me like a big brother ought to. Rosalie and I never really got each other, she comes from a well to do family and sometimes I think she only thinks of herself..but I love her. I love my family deeply, after all I can't remember my real family; my sister Cynthia and my parents who I lived with until I was placed ina mental hospital.

I snapped out of my trance when heard the buzzing voices of my sister Bella and my brother Edward as the discussed their plans for the first birthday of their beautiful daughter Reneeseme, who we all affectionately call Nessie. She was an unique child, born to a mortal mother and immortal father and is herself neither totally mortal nor totally immortal. Her birth sparked the birth of my sister into our world, something she had pinned for since falling for my brother Edward. Nessie was setting in the lap of her uncle Jacob, a shape-shifter who has imprinted on the daughter of the love of his life. Despite his hatred for our kind, Jacob has slowly become a part of the family and seems to live here more than at his home on the Quileute reservation. Jacob's friend Seth sat in the corner listening to his I-pod; Seth was the most comfortable of our Quileute friends.

Finally there were my brother Emmett and my sister Rosalie; they were discussing the condition of Emmett's Jeep. We all knew this day was coming; the damn thing was put through so much in our short time in Forks that it was slowly dying. Rose, a very accomplished mechanic, couldn't even revive the beast and gave it over to Jacob to try and fix; he too failed. This was the time Rose had chosen to break the news to her beloved husband and soul mate. It was like watching a doctor comforting a loved one while telling them that despite best efforts their beloved was going to die. Emmett took it better than I thought he would, then again I'm only as accurate as one's own will to follow the path they have chosen. I knew Rose already bought a new car of Emmett; it was sitting in the garage in the back corner. The day she bought the Hummer she had asked me to tag along in order to make it less conspicuous as to what she had planned. I could already tell that Emmett was going to flip when he saw the thing; he would love it.

That brings us to my dear Jasper, who was sitting on the steps waiting for me to return from my solo hunting trip. I had insisted on this trip since today marks my anniversary; it was seventy years ago today that I first awoke as a vampire. Jasper was the one vision I've had that has remained constant without ever wavering. When we first met in a little café in a suburb of Chicago he had just broken free from his sire Maria. Together they had ruled the southern part of Texas and northern part of Mexico since he was created in the 1860's. He sat patiently as I walked up to him, giving him a kiss and then sitting next time him, interlocking our hands. As we sat there just holding hands, the doorbell rang and I got up to answer it. It was unusual for our family to receive guests and it was rare for me not to have a warning at least a week in advance. I opened the door and there stood a delivery man.

He asked, "Is Alice Cullen home."

"Yes, I am her." I replied quickly.

"This is for you." He said while handing me a large box.

"Thanks." I said with the most appealing smile a vampire could possibly muster.

I went back to my seat next to Jasper to open the large box; I didn't know who would be sending me something. I opened it to find a large statue of the Greek god Apollo, and a card. The card read:

_To Alice, you are the best sister I could ever have hoped for, Happy Birthday.-Bella._

I was stunned, Jasper sat with a huge grin on his face when he finally said something I was ready to burn a hole in him with my glare.

"I'm sorry honey, I couldn't say anything, and Bella would have killed me." Jasper quickly let out.

"BELLA!" I yelled.

"Yes Alice." She appeared and replied.

A huge smile was on my face before I could scowl at her for sending me a gift without letting on so that I could be forewarned. "Thank you Bella, this is the best gift. I love you more than you will ever know." Is all I could say at this point.

"I knew you would like it, after all he is the god of prophecy." Bella replied with a smirk.

"What is all the screaming about down here Alice?" Esme said as she walked down the stairs.

"Sorry Esme, I was just surprised by Bella's present to me." I quickly apologized.

"It's okay dear." Esme said as she produced a small black box.

I opened the box to reveal a pair of three carrot diamond earnings. The diamonds are set on fourteen carrot white gold. I smiled and thanked Esme after she said it was from her, Carlisle, Rosalie, and Emmett. I was trying to find in my mind the gift that Jasper had gotten me before I heard Edward call to me, "Don't try, Bella found a way to block your visions and has protected us until you our gifts."

I suddenly was upset by the leap Bella made in her gift. She was a shield, which in supernatural terms means that she can block the extra sensory powers of other beings. Originally it was believed she only had the power to block mental powers, not those related strictly to the body. But despite my anger I sat patiently for Jasper to finally reveal his gift so that Bella would drop her shield and I could be able to see the futures of all my family. As I expected, it would be the most eloquent gift anyone could ever give me. Jasper had run to the room while I was busy trying to yell at Bella, receiving a gift from Esme and being befuddled by Bella's new powers. He returned quietly with a huge bouquet of roses of all varieties. Surely as soon as he handed me the flowers that I was freed from Bella's shield but I quickly wished that she had kept the shield up.

I fell into a trance with the image of a small young woman sitting against a white, padded wall. The girl had her hands around her knees and her head between her legs, obviously crying. I saw two doctors walk in on her, both beautiful beyond all words and pale beyond what was humanly possible. I immediately identified them as vampires, but whether they were like Carlisle was hard to see. I did notice though that the vampires were dressed wearing older clothes, something that would have been worn in the 1920's. Edward saw my vision as it played in my head before me and was in front of me before I could blink away the images.

"What is it, Alice." Jasper inquired.

"I don't…I don't know." I muttered, confused.

"It was you, Alice, as a human. But who were the two doctors?" Edward informed everyone.

"I don't know, I don't remember anything from my time as a human, you know that Edward." I responded as though I were about to cry.

"Maybe it isn't a vision of the present, maybe it's a memory of the past." Bella suggested, "Since we found out about your making from James, what all have you found out?"

"You know that Bella, I know I had a sister and parents and I know the name of the hospital." I answered her question. At this point I was surrounded by everyone except Nessie and Jacob. Carlisle was standing over me, worried about my vision of my past. The look on his face was that of a man in thought; I knew he was contemplating possibilities for figuring this mystery out.

"This second doctor, we have to figure out who he is and why now you are having visions about him." Carlisle decided.

"Does he have any identifying marks, Alice?" Emmett inquired.

"No, not that I could tell, the vision is too blurry. Almost as if a decision still needs to be made in order to make it completely clear."

"Then we must figure out who he is." Carlisle instructed, "I think it would be best if you travel to the hospital and find out more information about your stay and the doctors who cared for you."

I assumed from his tone of voice that he was scared that some how my past was going to be coming to visit our family in the very near future. Carlisle turned toward Edward and Bella and asked if she would be up for making the trip with me. Her new powers would be helpful in protecting me against any enemies who might be waiting for me. I was slightly relieved that Carlisle asked Bella to accompany me, since her transformation into a vampire last year things hadn't been as good between us as they were before. I hoped our trip together across country would give us time to rekindle the friendship that was still very much alive, although starting to waver. I grant that this is partially my fault, as it was my decision to leave Forks last year in hopes of finding more like Reneeseme. Of all the people I could hurt, aside from Jasper, Bella was the most crushed by my departure. While she had Edward, her transformation would have been much easier had I, her best friend, been there for her. Instead I left her with my sister Rose, who has never been shy about her ill feelings for Bella.

My thoughts returned to the present, and the fact that while I was gaining Bella for my trip west, I would be without Jasper. I was worried about Jasper's safety as I went out to discover my past. "Don't worry about him, he and I will do what we can to help from here." Edward assured me. This made me feel a little bit better, knowing that Edward and Jasper would be doing what they could to assist in my discovery and at the same time could watch out for each other.

"Very well, it is decided, Bella and Alice will leave tonight for the hospital. Jasper and Edward will conduct an investigation form here using whatever available resources we have. The rest of us will carry on as normal. If anyone asks about Bella, we will tell them that Alice has taken her to Atlanta for a follow up with the CDC." Carlisle sounded so much like a military commander preparing us for yet another battle. Had this been our first battle I would have been frightened by his tone, but in fact this seemed to be the millionth battle we faced ever since moving back to Forks. The first two years here had seemed so bland, and then out of no where Chief Swan's daughter Bella came to visit. After her arrival we were thrust into battle after battle, though none of us wished to even consider blaming it on Bella because we knew as a human it was beyond her control to manipulate events and people.

The decision for Bella and I to leave in the night allowed me time to spend with Jasper. With eight hours to spare, I would be able to spend it entirely with Jazz and hopefully leave any notice of possible dangers with him. I noticed very little in my visions, aside from weather conditions. At the same time I was able to spend time with the vision I had earlier, trying to uncover any more possible clues about who the mysterious second vampire was and how he was connected to me. I tried to visualize the trip as much as possible, trying to find any problems that Bella and I would encounter on our journey. All I could see was the weather patterns for all the major cities we would pass through, and that left me with an ill feeling in my stomach. Thankfully I had Jazz there to keep me calm, just knowing he had the power to settle my anxiety helped quite a lot. It was unsettling that all I could see was the weather for our trip, and not any of the people or events we might encounter. At first I assumed it was because these things had yet to be decided, but then I realized that it was due an outside influence. It had nothing to do with the decisions Bella and I had not yet made, but rather the decisions someone unseen had not yet made. For all I could tell there were as few as one and as many as a thousand people and vampires who were going to play into our trip.

Instead of looking into the trip, I looked for any trouble that the family would encounter during our time away. The first thing I noticed was an unexpected visit by Angela and Ben, two of our friends from high school. They were clearly worried about Bella's condition, as anyone other than her father was concerned she was still sick with an unknown Brazilian illness. Angela became a good friend to Bella and I in the last couple of weeks of our senior year. She was a brilliant smart and funny girl to be around. She went off to the University of Washington with her boyfriend Ben, and they were coming home for the weekend. Thankfully, Jacob would spend his time at his house or Charlie's during our travels and so I was able to clearly see the future events. I saw Charlie, but I wasn't sure what to make of his actions. I knew he was going to call Renee but I wasn't positive as to why he was making the call. All I knew is that he had determined to call her this weekend, and an ill feeling in my stomach led me to believe it might concern Bella. Renee's ignorance about her daughter's sudden recovery had allowed Bella some normalcy in her life. Unlike most newborns, Bella had turned out to be quite controlled and that allowed her to be around humans such as her father. But her mother, her mother she felt would be able to see right through the charade that her father willingly turned a blind eye towards. I kept the vision to myself, if for no other reason than to not bother people for something that might just be trivial. After all, I had seen Charlie make calls to Renee a hundred times in the past year to give her status reports on Bella's condition. He had played along wonderfully so as not to disturb the delicate life Bella still lived through.

When it was finally time to head out, we were delayed an hour by an unexpected visit from Bella's father Charlie. She was able to entertain him and then get him to leave within one hour, but only after she had Edward convince Jacob to take Nessie and spend the night over at Charlie's house. Charlie had taken the news of Bella's strange recovering with relative ease. He was more interested in the fact he had a baby granddaughter, granted at one year of age she already looked like she was a five year old. She spoke more now than she ever did, which Bella had convinced her it was better so that she would be able to fit in with other children. Charlie fell in love with his granddaughter and usually came over to visit only her, and very little of Bella. Charlie's next concern was to convince Bella and Edward to register Reneesme for kindgarten. But finally we were able to leave and Rose offered to let us borrow her new BMW because she had it specially ordered with reflective windows, perfect for whenever it was necessary to leave the safety of Forks near constant cover of clouds. On our way out of town we decided to stop and fill up the tank, not that it was completely empty but I knew that for at least the next one-hundred miles we were going to be under constant sunlight. While at the station we ran into Angela and Ben, I wasn't as surprised as I ought to have been considering I had only seen them heading to the house; then again I hadn't planned on stopping for gas in Forks. Being that Forks only has one gas station meant that this was inevitable, and Bella played her part beautifully, Angela and Ben left without any hint of a change. We were further lucky that Bella's eyes had changed from the crimson color all newborns have to a wonderful shade of milk chocolate brown in a matter of five months. I decided to let Bella drive so that I could have more time to devote to observing our future.


	2. Chapter 2

Biloxi

To my astonishment Bella was able to get us out of the state of Washington in less than three hours. I remembered her from her human days, uncomfortable with any of us when we drove more than five miles over the posted speed limit. I'd expected more time to looking at our futures while on our way to Mississippi, but at the current rate were sped along we'd make it there within a day. As we drove into Idaho, my stomach began to churn as I contemplated my second return home in so many years. I can't remember a thing about my past and I knew only what I'd uncovered when Edward insisted our family leave Forks for the safety of Bella. At the time I uncovered the name of the mental institution, St. Dymphna's Home for the Mentally Disturbed, and found that it was still in full operation outside the city of Biloxi. It was in a new facility and no longer referred to as a home for the mentally disturbed, but rather St. Dymphna's Psychological Hospital. I was unable to access my old records at the time to discover the name of the doctor. I was able to look through old news papers to find more information about my family; unfortunately I was only able to find some pieces and almost nothing about my parents. I also knew I had a sister, whose daughter was still living in Biloxi. If nothing else I could find a way to meet with her and try to uncover any stories my sister told her about me. That was difficult to imagine seeing how my tombstone and the date listed on my admissions papers are identical. Either I was made on the same day I was admitted into the hospital, or my parents found it to be such an embarrassment that they decided to claim I was dead. I knew that the former wasn't possible because the first memory I have as a vampire shows that it was 1946, while I was buried in 1943. I spent at least three years in the hospital, under the care of a vampire much like Carlisle, or so I hoped. But then there was still the perplexing situation concerning the second doctor from my memories.

While I tried to figure out this problem I decided I would ask Bella if she could remember anything James had told her. She insisted that she couldn't remember anything that far back, especially since it was a human memory. I suspected she only wanted to spare me the agony.

"We're going into the south." Bella announced.

"Yes, why do you say that though?" I replied.

"Because, because I remember the stories Jasper told about when he became a vampire and how the south is completely different from the north."

"That's true. In the south vampires are more prone to form covens whereas in the north they are primarily nomadic. You're concerned that we will confront a coven in Biloxi?"

"Yes." She said sheepishly.

"Don't worry Bella, all will be ok. Besides, I doubt we will even be a bother to them since we won't be feeding off any humans."

"Er. I still don't like it, Alice."

I couldn't convince her that going into the south was completely ok and that no matter what we would be left alone. I was sure of myself because I hadn't foreseen any problems, then again my sight was a little on the fritz. I remained confident though because I knew if anything were to develop, I would be able to gain control over my sight to realize it before we were any real danger.

Taking Rose's new car was the best idea I had in a long while it seemed like. We drove straight through Wyoming and into Colorado before the sunset on us once again. We stopped quickly for gas just outside Denver before we hit the road once more. Once we crossed the state line into Kansas I decided to tell Bella about my visions concerning her father's phone call to her mother.

"Oh. I guess he has the right to call her." She replied simply.

"This isn't the first time I've seen him call her. What worries me is that I can't see what he tells her." She didn't respond to me after that, I could tell she had a perplexed look on her face. In the event her father did decide to tell her mother that Bella was recovered, Renee would board the first flight from Jacksonville to Forks. Bella's mother was more perceptive than her father, which would ultimately mean Bella would have to go through with her death and funeral. But she wasn't going to worry about all that now and neither was I, our mission was clear and we weren't to deviate from it. The state of Kansas blew by in a matter of hours as Bella kept the car at one hundred and eight miles an hour.

Finally, only twenty-six hours after leaving Forks we arrived in Biloxi just after sunset. We checked into the Grand Biloxi Casino Hotel & Spa, the spa part mainly for me to indulge myself. Before leaving Forks I reserved the presidential suite for us so that we could have a way to escape the sunlight, should it make an appearance during our stay; it also served as our base of operations. We assumed the identities of two medical students from Ole Miss under the direction of Dr. Carlisle Cullen. As medical students focusing on psychology, we would be given access to the records we needed to find out more information about my mysterious doctors. If nothing else, I would be able to tap into the resource of my niece who still lived in Biloxi with her husband and three children. We both took turns calling our loved ones and eventually turned in for the night. We had brought my newly acquired lap top with me to begin research. Carlisle's position as Professor Emeritus at Ole Miss granted us access to medical websites within the state of Mississippi. Bella made a trip to The Book Store on Beach Boulevard to see if she could acquire any information about the hospital's past.

"We should search for all medical staff at the hospital during the years of 1940 and 1945." Bella suggested.

"That's a good idea. If we can at least find the names of those doctors who worked at the hospital, maybe we could cross reference them with old newspapers and photographs." Yet despite my confidence, this turned out to be a difficult task. Between those years approximately three hundred different doctors all worked in the hospital. Of those three hundred, only fifteen had photographs we could find online; none of these men were the two vampires. We decided to incorporate the year 1946 into our search since it was possible the two vampires were only on staff for the one year. Unfortunately of the thirty new names that appeared on the list only two had photographs and neither were the men from my vision. So with over three hundred names left to investigate, we were left with a feeling of defeat. My records at the hospital on microfiche didn't mention the name of my doctor. Our only option left was to find biographies on these doctors in hopes of finding out where they all went. We were lucky with this and found that fifteen doctors left the United States within ten years of their time at the hospital. Ten doctors all died while still employed by the hospital, and so I figured the best place to start was with the names of those ten doctors.

"We'll have to make a trip to my niece's home to see if she knows any of the family secrets." I told Bella, feeling uncomfortable about interacting with a decedent who believes I died years before her birth. I wasn't entirely certain given my date of death that my sister would have told any of her children about me. If she did, and she happened to shown pictures of me then Bella and I would be in for a very difficult day. But it was resolved, Bella and I would visit my niece Catherine tomorrow during the day while her children were at school and husband was at work.

"Do you see that, Alice?" Bella asked as we drove up to the house said to belong to my niece.

"Yes." I said in an unpleasant tone. My niece apparently was a little superstitious because she had a cross on her front door with garlic surrounding it. "I can't believe she actually thinks that would warn off vampires."

"Well until I met Edward I thought all of that was true." Bella retorted.

"Let's get this over with, I feel uncomfortable as is." Bella and I got out of the car and walked to the front door. I knocked lightly on the blue wood while ignoring the beautiful brass door knocker, which was obvious more for decoration than actual use. At first no one came to the door and I was about half ready to dart back to the safety of the BMW when suddenly Bella reached out and rang the door bell. Within a few seconds the door opened to reveal a short, middle aged woman standing there wearing jeans and a blouse. This had to be my niece, she looked so much like me that it was impossible for her not to be related. She stared at Bella and I, obviously shocked by the slender pale models standing at her door.

"Hello Mrs. Martin. My name is Bella Masen and this is my friend Alice Cullen. We are medical students at Ole Miss and were wondering if we could talk to you for a moment." Bella seemed so at ease, while I was shaking like a leaf.

"Of course, please come in." My niece said very politely. "What can I do for you two young ladies?"

"We are both psychology students and were given the assignment by our professor to investigate rare instances in mental health facilities. We came across the name of your aunt Mary Brandon while we were looking into the records at St. Rita's. We noticed she had the ability to see the future, or so she claimed." Bella was strikingly helpful, if I had come alone or with Rose I doubt we would have gotten this far.

" Why yes, that is my aunt. What is it about her case that you would care to know?" Catherine inquired once more.

"Well you see ma'am, we would like to get the whole story about your aunt from you if you know it. The hospital doesn't seem to give much information, just the basic name and vitals. We don't even know the names of the doctors who treated her." Bella said once more.

"Please, come in and sit. Would you like anything to drink or eat?" Both of us politely refused.

"Where shall I begin? My mother often spoke to me about my aunt. They were terribly close and my mother looked up to Mary. My mother was thirteen the first time her sister had a vision. Mary was all of fifteen at the time and she saw my father entering into a bar and being propositioned by a prostitute and accepting. Well, she told my grandmother and when he got home she confronted him about it. My grandfather laid into Mary something fierce when he discovered she was the one who told her mother about what happened. He was convinced my aunt had snuck out of the house and followed him to the bar; he wouldn't believe that she had seen it all in her head. I believe the name of the doctor who treated Mary for her injuries suffered at the hands of my grandfather was named Nathaniel Greene. He was an interesting doctor, but the only one my grandfather fully trusted. My mother always claimed that Dr. Greene claimed to be forty but looked no older than twenty-five. Regardless, my aunt didn't mention to anyone about her visions besides my mother for the next year."

"A week after Mary's seventeenth birthday she had another vision of my grandfather being beaten in the middle of the street at the dead of night. This frightened my grandparents when she brought it to them. Grandpa didn't believe her obviously and went to work that night as though nothing was going to happen. When he came home the next morning he went to find Mary and tell her that she was right, but that because she had warned him he was able to get away without injury. He wanted to take her shopping for a new dress to repay the debt he felt he owed to her. It was a trap though; my grandfather instead of going to work went to visit Dr. Greene who introduced him to his close friend Dr. Silas McGivney who had just taken a job at St. Rita's. He told my father that he would be happy to admit my aunt as a patient, and that he would personally oversee her case. That was the last my mother saw her sister outside the hospital. The date was June 6, 1943 and Mary never came home. A week later they went to her funeral, the story was that on the way to the store Mary fell and hit her head. Of course my mother knew the truth and visited my aunt as often as her father would permit."

"My aunt was the only person ever admitted into St. Rita's for the ability to see the future. This intrigued Dr. McGivney and he kept his promise to my grandfather to personally oversee my aunt's case. This is around the time that Mary began to see a strange man watching her whenever she would be taken outside for her daily walk. She said he had bright red eyes and was pale as a ghost. Whenever she mentioned this to Silas he assured her that it was just a hallucination. My mother wasn't quite as certain as the doctor and was willing to accept what her sister told her as truth. This began approximately two years after Mary was admitted into the hospital. In January of 1946, Silas went missing as did my aunt; my mother also told me that Dr. Greene had abruptly quit his job and moved to Europe. She never saw her sister again but once in a while she thought that she saw her in the shadows whenever she and my father went on dates. The last time my mother thought she saw Mary was May 6, 1955, the day I was born."

Bella and I turned to look at each other for a moment. I felt a little embarrassed that I had neglected to remember these instances. Bella turned back to Catherine and thanked her for all the information she could provide us with and then curiously asked about the crucifix and garlic on the door.

"Well you see ladies; my mother always suspected that Silas and Nathaniel were vampires. She once touched Dr. Greene by accident when he was examining her and said he felt frigid. They both had maroon eyes and were deathly pale. She believed that the women she always saw in the shadows was her sister, but she had been turned into a vampire by Silas. My mother was afraid that her sister would come to her and kill her and her family. So she kept a crucifix and garlic on the front door and that is why I have it there."

"You believe in vampires?" I asked, she seemed startled when I spoke.

"Yes, I do." She quickly responded.

"Well, we thank you for your time and we are sorry about the intrusion." Bella interrupted.

"Oh, it was my pleasure ladies and I hope you both become very successful doctors." Catherine showed us to the door with a great big smile and watched as we got into the BMW and drove off.

I sat there quietly, hoping Bella would ask me about seeing my sister the way I did so often in those first nine years after I was turned. But much to my chagrin, she asked anyways. I didn't really have a good excuse other than that when I first woke up I saw Jasper's face in my head and then I saw Carlisle and his family. I was alone, and didn't know what was meant by the images in my head. When I realized I could follow the sent of my sister I did so, trying to watch over her and protect her. I never actually thought she saw me, but apparently she did. Then I confided in Bella something that only Edward knew about me, that I had fed off of only two humans in my whole life; those who were responsible for locking me away in that hospital: my parents. Bella was understanding and didn't judge me for what I had done. Even when I explained that it was three years after I was turned and I knew very well what I was doing she still wouldn't chastise me for what I had done. Like Edward so many years before, Bella was only interested in comforting me. At that moment I realized that while my sister was dead, some greater power had sent to me another loving and understanding sister.

"So I guess that the vampire you saw when you went outside was James?" Bella inquired politely as we walked into our hotel room.

"Yes, it must have been. I still don't know why he was after me though. I never saw him but those few times I was allowed outside. I think I need to call Carlisle and tell him about Nathaniel and Silas. Hopefully he will know more information about the two of them than Catherine did." I responded quickly while reaching for my phone. I pulled it out and dialed Carlisle's number; he answered after the first ring.

"Yes, yes. I know who Silas and Nathaniel were. Last I heard Nathaniel had trekked to India." Carlisle seemed uncomfortable as he talked about Nathaniel, he knew him personally when they lived in Chicago at the time Edward was created. "I will have Edward and Jasper look into Nathaniel; maybe I'll call up to Eleazar and see if he can provide me with any information." He hung up the phone shortly after that promising to call me as soon as he heard something more about Nathaniel. I could tell easily which Nathaniel was and which was Silas when I revisited the vision. Nathaniel wore very casual clothes when he visited me that day in the hospital, while Silas wore a long white doctor's coat and more professional attire. While I attempted to discover more from the vision, Bella watched the local news.

"You know, the entire time I was human I never figured out why you always watched television like you were so engrossed in it that you couldn't pull yourself away. But now I know you were really just starring off into space, this stuff is so boring." Bella abruptly said.

"Sometimes it's more interesting, but you're right, to a vampire television is boring." I answered without opening my eyes. Suddenly a vision came to me; Catherine was coming to our hotel. She apparently called around to the hotels in the city to find Bella and I. "Catherine will be here in twenty minutes Bella."

"What, why?" Is all Bella was able to muster after hearing the news.

"I don't know, this seems very odd but we need to be cautious we can't afford to be tangled up her. It is unsafe and I won't allow my only niece to be put in harms way."

There was a quick knock on the door, Bella and I didn't move. Then another knock, this time Catherine spoke, "Hello? Alice, Bella? This is Catherine, I came to speak with you some more." Bella finally got up and walked to the door.

"Hello Catherine, what can we do for you today? Please come in." She gestured as she held the door open. Catherine walked through and had to squint as her eyes were not accustomed to the faint light that came through the windows. She looked around our suite while she gathered her thoughts.

"Aunt Mary." She said after a prolonged silence. "Don't worry Alice, I know that you are my aunt. My mother gave me a picture of you, one she took while she escorted you around the hospital grounds that last time before you died; she gave it to me before she died. When we you came to visit me earlier with Bella I was so shocked to see you. I never expected to run into you, my mother said that after grandma and grandpa were found murdered she only saw you one or two more times."

I stood there shaken for a moment; how could she know who I was? I was stunned by what she explained but tried to find the courage to speak to her, to acknowledge that I am her missing aunt Mary. "Yes Catherine, you're right. I am your aunt. I didn't want to intrude on your life, but I had a flash back to my time in the hospital and had to find answers to the men I saw in my vision. I saw no other way of doing this except to ask for your assistance in telling my story. You see, when I became a vampire I didn't know who I was or what I was. I could smell Cynthia close by and went to investigate. I passed by an empty store and saw my reflection in the window; I was stunned by what I saw. I was able to find Cynthia that night but I promised myself I would never approach her; I never thought she saw me. You must understand that I never intended to become a monster, but I was so furious with my parents for putting me into that hospital, to allow this to happen to me that I had to kill them. I didn't even realize who they were until very recently. It was three years after I became a vampire and I was walking down the street one night. I caught their smell as they came out of a restaurant and I recognized it. I must have known deep down who they were because they were the only two humans I ever felt a desire to kill. I am so sorry for what I did to my parents, and I am sorry for intruding on your life. My sister Bella and I will never bother you again."

She paused for a moment, a look of terror struck her as she looked at me and then glanced quickly back at Bella. Then she spoke, "Alice, you do not need to apologize to me for what you did to grandma and grandpa. I know that what they did to you was uncalled for and I am not the one to offer forgiveness or blame for something I can't say I wouldn't have done myself. And I am glad that you and Bella came to me, I was so worried after my mother did that I was all alone. After she had me she had complications which made it impossible for her to have more children. I felt so alone after my mother died and now I feel as though I'm not alone, not with knowing you are still here. I just wanted to come here and tell you that I recognized who you are and I wanted to introduce myself."

"Thank you Catherine. And let me formally introduce you to my sister. This is Bella Cullen; she is married to my brother Edward. When I woke up after being transformed I saw two visions; one was of the man I was destined to live the rest of my life with: Jasper Hale. The second was of a family, the Cullens. They are vampires who refuse to feed off of humans. The patriarch is Carlisle, and his wife Esme. I have another sister Rosalie and a brother Emmett. We currently live in Forks, Washington."

"Oh my, such a large family you have. And Bella, it is wonderful to officially meet you." She immediately responded. We talked for a few hours before she realized the time and had to go home to meet her children home from school. She invited us over after dinner to meet her family. Bella and I looked at each other and Catherine said that she would mention nothing about our true nature. We agreed to come visit. We stayed at her place for two hours after they finished eating dinner. I met her husband, Jack and their three children William, Mary and Timothy. I was so enthralled with my niece's family, and it appeared that Bella too had a great time. We were sorry we had to leave and told my niece when were alone it would be best if we did not have much contact with her. I gave her my cell number and asked that she only call on rare occasions and told her to put it away some place to have someone call me when she finally passed away. She smiled and gave me and Bella hugs and then we left into the night back to our hotel. When we finally returned my phone rang and it was Carlisle again. Jasper and Edward found nothing on Nathaniel's whereabouts, but Eleazer had given Carlisle some information. It turned out that Nathaniel has been working for the Volturi for centuries and that after failing to deliver me to the Volturi he was sent to India by Caius to find werewolves. More startling, it appeared that James was once a member of the Volturi as well. He was to be their second tracker and to prove himself Caius sent him to Biloxi to see if he could track me, turn me and deliver me back to the Volturi. Apparently I was to be made a seer for the brothers, a way of knowing if vampires were breaking the laws. It upset Caius when he found out that I had found my way to Carlisle and his family. As far as Eleazer knew, Nathaniel still was living in India.

"There is something more Alice. You and Bella need to return to Forks immediately. Charlie made a phone call to Renée and the urging of Sue Clearwater. Apparently Sue convinced Charlie that it was time Renée knew about her daughter's recovering from that terrible illness. You know what this means Alice; I know you've seen it before." Carlisle hung up the phone after that and I turned slowly towards Bella.

"What did he say Alice? Does he know anything more about Nathaniel?"

"Yes, but that doesn't matter right now Bella. Charlie called Renée and told her that you had woken up and were better. We have to get back to Forks, you will have to die Bella."

"What? No! You can't kill me Alice I won't let you."

"Bella, it is best. Your mother can't afford to know that you are alive and well. You know it yourself, Renée is a very perceptive woman she will know the truth about you. Charlie is willing to pretend there is nothing wrong with you or us, but if Renée knows anything it will prompt the Volturi to return and kill us all. The only solution is to put you in the hospital without Charlie knowing any different." I was able to calm Bella down and we both quickly packed to head back to Forks, our mission in Biloxi over.

It took us less time to return to Forks with me driving than it took to get to Biloxi. Edward and Jasper were waiting for us in the garage as we pulled in. They embraced us as though we were gone for years rather than days. Edward then welcomed me home, and Jasper welcomed home Bella. We got inside and Rosalie immediately asked for the keys to her car and went to inspect it. Carlisle was waiting for us on the sofa when we got into the living room.

"Bella, I assume Alice has told you what has happened over the last couple of days?"

"Yes, she informed me."

"Very well then, I have secured a wing of the hospital that we will be able to put you in. Our story to Charlie and those at the Reservation will be that you came down with the Brazilian virus again. Your mother will come into town and will be brought directly to the hospital to see you. We will have you in a breath tent so that she can't fully see you. She'll be explained that you are cold to the touch because of the virus. You will say your good byes and then I will unplug the heart machine I will use. You will need to hold your breath and pretend you have died. Once we are able to roll you out of the room, we will tell your mother and father that your wishes were to be cremated. Meanwhile, Charlie believes that Jasper and Edward went on a camping trip. They will go to Olympia and check into a hotel under a false identity. Alice will go with them, and it will be said she went to find Edward to tell him what happened to you. Edward will return on the appointed day to take you back to Olympia with you. Jasper and Alice will return and inform us that Edward is too grief stricken and will be unable to make the funeral. We will give your mother your ashes." Carlisle was so careful in the way he explained the plan to Bella, in order not to upset her. She seemed ok for the moment; she had the chance to come to grips with what was going to have to happen when we made our return trip. Edward, Jasper and I immediately left for Olympia while Carlisle and Bella went the hospital to prepare for her death.


	3. Chapter 3

Funeral

A week after leaving Forks for Olympia with Jasper and Edward, Carlisle finally found it necessary to call me home. I was anxious to be home; after all it would be left up to me to plan Bella's funeral and wake. This wasn't exactly the type of party I was use to throwing, not like the graduation party or Bella and Edwards wedding but it would allow me to distract myself. I came back three days before Bella was scheduled to die and that gave me time to ask her how she would like me to do things so a not to upset Charlie and Renée anymore than they already were. I knew that Bella was going to give me free reign once again, after all she was terribly happy with the way her wedding came out (much to her chagrin I might add…) Of course I decided to hold back that I knew so as to give Bella the chance to tell me personally. I would lie and say she had blocked my ability or something so I couldn't tell what her plans were. It took me about two hours to return from Olympia, I drove slowly as to give her more time with her parents. From what Carlisle told me Charlie was suspicious from the start but when he got Carlisle alone he said he'd play along for Renée sake. He knew that Bella was only pretending that be sick, and that's why he decided to call Renée so that closure might finally be given to her. I also knew that Charlie was planning to propose to Sue Clearwater within the next month and that was the other reason he gave in to her suggestions. With Bella dead, Renée and Charlie would no longer have any need to stay in touch and give him the ability to remarry without involving his ex (Renée and Phil were going through a rough patch and Sue was worried that if Charlie remarried it might hurt Renée. )

I immediately went the hospital, knowing it was clear of everyone except Rosalie and Emmett who were standing vigil in case Bella took a turn for the worse. They welcomed me home and I went in to see the sick patient.

"Hey Bella, how's it going in there?"

"Ugh, I hate lying to Renée like this. I know it's the only way, but do we really have to kill me off? Can't we just say I fell into a coma?"

"Now Bella you know that wouldn't work, Renée would just stick around Forks until you woke up. She might even decide to move back to be close to you." I sat next to her, grabbing some paper and pen acting like I was going to take notes on how to put together everything.

"I know, I just feel bad about having to do this to her. Oh well, I guess I don't have much of a choice. You came back to ask about funeral plans didn't you?"

"Yes Bella, I did. Now what do you want me to do?"

"You know you can have free reign over it. Just make sure its nothing too horribly bad. I want it to be somber and what not. Renée is going to be expecting a very traditional funeral. Carlisle prepared her for the worst already and she talked to me about my funeral plans and I told her I was going to be cremated. This upset her a little bit but she got over it and said she hoped that the celebration of my life would be a joyous occasion but nothing too extreme. I want you to invite Ben, Angela, Jessica and Mike and maybe the pack too."

"You can count on me Bella, now you need to prepare yourself. When the sun rises tomorrow Carlisle will be in to unplug your machines. Your parents will be right behind him and when they enter the room they will see you dead. I know you already said your good byes and so try not to get too upset. Practice lying on the bed without moving or breathing for a good twenty minutes so that way Carlisle has time to remove you from here and take you to the morgue. I will be there and so will Edward, we'll both take you to Olympia and then Jazz and I will head back here for the Funeral."

I left the room and went out to talk with Emmett and Rosalie. They both said that Bella had been a good sport about all this and that she was truly showing herself to be a Cullen. I was happy about that and then had to do the most dreadful thing…go back to the house. Renée was there with Charlie talking with Esme and Carlisle about Edward and Bella. I walked in to find Charlie and Renée having a glass of wine and much to my shock so were Esme and Carlisle. In my time with them I don't think I ever saw either of them take a bite or drink of human food or drink. I joined them in the living room where they were talking about the wedding; Renée was still distraught over her daughter's fate, blaming herself for not telling Bella to wait to get married. Charlie tried to convince her that it was the right thing to do and that getting married wasn't what was killing Bella. Carlisle tried to calm her down and explained that it was a tragedy that she got sick in Brazil. Esme poured me a glass of wine and stared at it for a long moment.

The cup of wine looked daunting, in my entire time as a vampire I was never enticed to drink or eat anything that was made for humans. While Charlie and Carlisle talked, Renée stared at me while I was focused on the glass of red alcohol. Not to disturb her I picked up the glass, took a deep breath and took a sip. It tasted interesting at first, it wasn't as bad as I expected. The one time I saw Edward steal a bite of pizza from his and Bella's lunch tray he looked like he had just eaten dirt. This wine, however, was wonderful tasting and I nodded an approving glance at Esme. She smiled back and in a voice low enough that only Carlisle and I could understand explained that they found alcohol was not horribly bad to vampires. Unlike humans we can't get drunk, but it has an amazing taste like as it would to a human.

A couple hours after I returned, Jacob arrived with Reneesme in hand. He was obviously in on the situation because if I knew Jacob he'd be off on a suicide mission trying to save Bella. He looked a little confused and distressed when he finally came into the living room. Though he was only eighteen and the chief of police was sitting two feet from him, Jacob grabbed the remaining cup and poured him a glass of wine. He drank it slowly but more often than I drank mine. By the time I was closing in on the last drop he was already on his third glass of wine.

"What's wrong Jacob?" I said low enough so no one could hear.

"It's nothing; I just have a lot on my mind."

"Is it about Bella? You know what's really going on don't you?"

"Yes, but that's not what I'm worried about. I'm not really in the mood to talk about it just yet. Maybe after everything has returned to normal I'll be able to explain." He stopped talking and drinking and just stared at Nessie. The sun was slowly beginning to rise, much to the amazement of Charlie and Renée and Carlisle had to get to work. He invited Charlie and Renée down to the hospital to visit Bella when they got the chance. Of course they were tired and told Carlisle that they would be down after breakfast. I told Carlisle that I would come with him to work so I could spend more time with Bella. Of course my main cause was to give Carlisle enough warning for when Bella's parents decided to make an appearance. Jacob decided he was going to go back to the reservation leaving Nessie with her grandparents. The day was bright and sunny, one of those few exceptions for Forks, Washington. Carlisle and I were careful as we got to the hospital, we park in the underground parking garage and took an elevator up to the fourth floor where Bella was being kept. Rosalie was down the hall and Emmett was in the room with Bella when we got there. Carlisle entered the room ahead of me and told Bella that today was the day. A little fear was in her face as I walked in; I knew she was afraid her mother wouldn't handle her death very well. I explained to her that all would be fine and that I was keeping an eye on her and Charlie to see if they were preparing themselves for her death. Of course Charlie already knew to some degree about Bella being a vampire, and from what I could see her mother would leave town shortly after the funeral.

It was nearly two in the afternoon when I saw Charlie and Renee leaving the house for the hospital. I approximated that they would arrive around three in the afternoon, giving Carlisle and Bella time to prepare for the death scene in this production. I sat anxiously by the door, watching the elevator for when Charlie and Renée would step through to head towards Bella. Around three the elevator doors opened and out stepped Bella's biological parents. I whispered to Carlisle and Bella that Charlie and Renée had arrived. Rosalie and Emmett had made themselves scarce, though staying in the hospital in case we needed any assistance with Renée. When they finally got to the room Bella would have thirty minutes to say good bye when the heart monitor would begin to fail signaling her death. I would stay outside the door in order to give Bella a notice when the machine was close to stopping allowing her time to play up her weakening condition. Bella appeared even paler under the new lights Carlisle had installed. This gave the impression that Bella was sicker than she was the day before, and her parents wouldn't be able to notice the difference in lighting with their all too human eyes.

Immediately upon her parents entering the room Bella began the process of saying good bye as subtly as she could. When asked by Renée how she felt, Bella responded that she felt weak and wasn't sure how long she could hold on for. Her mother tried to comfort her, saying she was a strong young woman and could fight this disease. Charlie stood by watching, I could hear his breathing become heavier realizing that his baby girl was already dead and that he was seeing things in reverse order. Carlisle came to the room one last time shortly after three thirty to check on Bella and provide her with the warning that her machine was about to die. Bella began to slowly fall in and out of consciousness and at a quarter to four in the afternoon, Bella took her last breath. The heart monitor began to indicate that Bella's heart was failing. Carlisle reentered the room, having never actually left the hallway, and attempted to revive her. After a few short minutes of trying to doing this, the machine failed and flat lined…Bella officially died at four o'clock in the afternoon.

"Charlie, Renée I'm sorry that this has happened, we all loved her dearly and I know that you most be torn up by her passing. All I can say is that she lived a full life without any regrets." Carlisle consoled Bella's parents as much as he could. Charlie's eyes filled with tears, finally able to mourn the life of a daughter he lost a year ago. Renée continued crying for minutes after Carlisle unhooked all the machines and Charlie tried to calm her down. Emmett, Rosalie and I all entered the room to give Carlisle and Bella time to transport her out of the room. Edward would be waiting at the back door in a few minutes and Carlisle needed to get Bella safely out the room. Rosalie was finally able to convince Renée it was time to let Carlisle finish his job and take Bella to the morgue. She finally relented, realizing that funeral arrangements needed to be made. I informed her that Bella had asked I take care of the funeral, knowing that it would be too hard on Edward, and her parents. She smiled graciously and then I broke it to her that Bella wished to be cremated and her ashes spread across the Quileute reservation. This news caused Renée to renew her sorrows and more tears began springing from her eyes.

"Where is Edward at?" Charlie attempted to break up the sound of Renée crying.

"He and Jasper are still camping, I tried to reach them by phone but I don't know if they will be able to get reception where they went." Then the phone rang, it was Edward and he was waiting at the back door in Rose's car. "Jasper just told me that Edward is too distraught and will be unable to return. He has gone to Alaska to visit our cousins in the Denali."

"That isn't what Bella would have wanted." Renée said through the tears, "She would have wanted her husband to be present at her funeral."

"Bella and Edward had a discussion back when she was first stricken by the illness and he told her that if she died he would be unable to attend her funeral." Rosalie tried to reassure Renée, "She tried to fight him, but he said he would rather remember her the way she was when she was living rather than always carry with him the image of her dead."

Carlisle was able to remove the body, and I walked with him to help. As soon as we got to the elevator Bella's eyes sprang open. "I hope that they are alright. Renée seemed so upset about my passing."

"Don't worry Bella; she will be fine in a few days." Carlisle tried to comfort her, "Edward is waiting outside to take you to Olympia. If she stays on her present course Renée will leave Forks in about a week. Alice has cleaned out as much of your things from Charlie's as she could. Renée will attempt to take a few mementos of you back with her to Jacksonville. Charlie will be given all the information about us and you once Renée has boarded a flight back to Florida. This is breaking with the laws of the Volturi and I can't say what they will do once they find out that we have let another human know the truth of our existence. I can only hope that his relationship with Sue Clearwater provides him the protection he will need."

Bella and I looked at each other, it hurt me as much as it hurt her that Charlie's life would be put into danger; this was something Bella tried so very hard to avoid ever since learning the truth about the Cullen family. We reached the basement, where they keep the morgue at Forks General, and Bella removed herself from the table. She said her short goodbyes to Carlisle and I, informing me to be gentle and tasteful with the funeral I was to plan. She then saw herself out the back door where Rose's new BMW was waiting, engine purring to life as her and Edward sped away. Before the door could slam shut Jasper gracefully walked through and came to embrace me. I felt whole again, something I knew I would need over the next couple of days as I planed and executed Bella's funeral. We all would need our loved ones next to us, even though we knew Bella was alive and well this was still something none of us could handle.

It took a few days to prepare Bella's funeral, even though the plans had been in place for a few weeks. The Priest from St. Anne's Catholic Church agreed to celebrate the funeral service and we gained permission from the Quileutes to allow us on their reservation; Bella wanted the ashes scattered on First Beach. Meanwhile, it took me a few days to plan the memorial celebration at our house following the funeral. I sent out invitations to almost everyone that Bella knew in Forks and even those who knew her from La Push. Jasper's calming effect helped me keep my focus on the plans at hand. I planned to decorate the house as much as I could get away with. I put black and red roses throughout the lower living room where the celebration would happen. I took Edward's stereo and put it down there as well, including his more somber music. I ordered enough food to feed an army of humans and a few bottles of wine. By the time I was finished I didn't even realize it was already three days after Bella's death. Carlisle had convinced Charlie and Renée that they shouldn't be there when they cremate her body. That allowed Emmett and Jasper to find a proper replacement, hunting and killing a small black bear. With help from Carlisle, they burned the body and placed it in a magnificent golden urn. I received confirmations from twenty people that they would be attending the memorial celebration, while all ten of people invited to the funeral itself accepted as well. Esme kept Renée occupied while the rest of us planned and elaborate fake funeral for Bella. Two days before the funeral Renée's husband Phil reached Forks and took over Esme's and kept Renée quite occupied until the funeral. Charlie had Sue Clearwater to watch out for him, a relationship that all were happy to see continuing to grow.

The day came for us to execute this funeral and as I had foreseen the day was the cloudiest dreariest day, even for Forks. We all dressed in our most eloquent black attire and prepared to put on yet another show for the humans we interacted with on a daily basis. I ordered three limos for us all to ride in. The first carried Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Rosalie, Reenesme, Jasper and myself; the second only had Bella's parents and their significant others. The only other humans invited from Forks to the funeral, Mike, Jessica, Ben, and Angela, occupied the third limo. Six of the Quileute agreed to meet us at First Beach for the funeral: Seth & Leah Clearwater, Billy & Jacob Black, and Sam & Emily Uley. We followed behind one of the most beautiful hearses money could buy. Charlie arranged for the local police to escort us down to La Push from our house. It took thirty minutes to reach the reservation and another five to reach the beach. When we got there black wooden chairs were set up on the beach with a white altar area at the front of the rows of chairs. The chairs were aligned in rows of four and Bella's parents sat in the first row on the left while Carlisle, Esme and Reneesme took the first three chairs in the front right row; they left one chair empty for Edward. The rest of us sat behind them and our friends from high school behind us; the Quileutes sat in the chairs behind Bella's parents. The Priest was dressed in white vestments and had two young boys to either side acting as Altar servers.

The funeral was magnificent, better than I could have hoped it to be. The Priest did a marvelous job, taking only two hours. At one point near the end Jacob and Emmett went to altar and took the urn from the Priest. From there they opened the urn and walked slowly down the beach, letting the ashes fall to the sand. At the end of the funeral as the Priest and the servers walked down the aisle, we sang Ave Maria; this was a request from Edward, who was a Catholic when he was still alive. We milled around a few minutes talking amongst ourselves and our friends from Forks High School. Renée was in tears from the moment the ceremony started and had picked up even more when the ashes were spread across the beach. Charlie and Phil attempted to comfort her to no avail. Sue Clearwater came over and thanked Carlisle and myself for putting on the funeral allowing Renée the chance to move on with her life now that she knew Bella was gone. Jacob and Leah Clearwater offered to take care of Reneesme for the rest of the day and Esme agreed it was probably easier if they did. When the sun was just about near the top of the sky we all gathered back into the limos for the drive back to the house. The drive took us less than thirty minutes this time and when we got there some of the other guests were waiting around.

Mike's parents were the first to come over and offer their apologies to Charlie and Renée over Bella's sudden and early death. Quil and Embry flocked towards Jacob pretending to offer their condolences for Bella's passing as well. Everyone began to slowly migrate into the home where I had everything perfectly prepared. All the guests seemed pleasantly surprised by the celebration I prepared for Bella's life.

Charlie came up to me and complimented me, "Alice, this has been a remarkable funeral. I appreciate what you have done for Renée; I know this has been hard on her."

"Thank you, Charlie. Will you at least warn me next time you think to do something like call Renée? That almost gave me a heart attack!"

"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking very clearly obviously. Sue explained everything to me and I want to apologize for doing this. I think what you all have done was the most appropriate solution to the problem I created. Renée can't be involved in this, and it is best that you gave Bella a way to cut ties with her cleanly and absolutely."

After that he became uncomfortable, obviously still trying to adjust to the idea his daughter was a vampire and that he was in the house where eight vampires called home. He slowly walked back to where Sue and Renée were talking. I could hear Seth ask Emmett where Edward was at and he responded that Edward was with Bella; Seth seemed to know what this meant. The party continued for a few more hours as people slowly began to leave our home and the sun began to set. Finally, the house was empty with the exception of my family, Charlie and Sue, Renée and Phil, and Jacob, Seth and Leah. I cleaned up as quickly as I could with Renée and Phil still around. Jacob and Leah sat by the television playing with Reneesme. Renée seemed to be calming down more and was able to announce she was leaving in two days.

"I'm sorry Charlie. I know that this is sudden, my leaving Forks so quickly. You have Sue to help you through this though right? I just can't be here anymore, not without Bella." She said apologetically to Charlie.

"It's ok. I know you never cared much for Forks and now that Bella is gone you have no reason to even think of this place." Charlie tried to sound polite, but even after all these years he still felt some resentment toward Renée for leaving him. Phil glowered at him for a minute but stopped abruptly when Emmett's foot hit the coffee table; he was obviously trying to calm the situation. Jasper gave him a look and then I felt his calming influence wash over me; I was sure he was calming down the whole room. After a few minutes of this Renée announced she was getting tired and asked Phil to take her back to the hotel. They left will little fanfare and apologized to Carlisle and Esme when they admitted they would not be returning before they left. This left me a little sigh of relief, having Edward and Bella gone made me uncomfortable.

They left the house and drove away in Phil's rented Toyota Yaris. With them gone it took Charlie little time to ask when Bella and Edward would return. Carlisle responded, "I think we should give Renée and Phil one day just to make sure they keep to their decision not to come here. We wouldn't want them showing up and seeing Bella sitting on the couch or anything. Rosalie is calling them right now to inform them that they can return tomorrow night, barring any mishaps. There is one thing I wish to impress upon you, Charlie. Our existence is a secret; it is against our laws to make ourselves known. The Quileute nation has done a remarkable job helping us conceal our secret both now and when things were tenser between us."

"I promise you that I will never betray your secret. As Chief of Police I can assure you that no one in Forks will ever harass any of you or find out your secret. You have protected my daughter so many times I cannot begin to thank you; let this be my way of showing my gratitude towards you." Charlie responded, grateful that we had been there so often to protect his daughter, our family.

For a few minutes the room was silent as everyone soaked in what Charlie had just said. We all knew he knew our secret, but it was never openly stated. When Bella returned with Edward I knew that she would want to do everything to protect him from the Volturi, should they find out he knows.

"Well, I think its time for Sue and I to leave and get something to eat. Thank you again for what you did here today. I will see you all again later." Charlie got up in a fluid motion and held his hand out for Sue who stood up after him. They embrassed Esme and Carlisle and then Sue turned to her children.

"Do you want to go and eat with Charlie and I?"  
"No, I think I will stay here a bit longer with Jacob." Leah responded immediately to her sister.  
"If its ok with the Cullens, I think I will stay here and raid their fridge." Seth followed his sister's lead, "You two go out and have a nice romantic dinner." He grinned.

Esme, with a smile on her face, told Seth he was more than welcome to stay and eat all the food he could from our fridge. He was really the only reason we kept it stocked, well with the exception of Charlie's rare and sporadic visits. Charlie and Sue left the house and we all went back to our normal routine. Rosalie and Emmett turned on the television and they watched with Jacob, Leah, and Seth. Esme and Carlisle decided to go to Bella and Edward's cottage and put Reneesme to bed. Meanwhile, Jasper and I went back to our room.

"What's going on with Jacob and Leah, Alice?" Jasper asked once we were in the solitude of our room.

"I don't know, I think it has something to do with their legends though. They haven't decided to make it known to anyone else, and of course you know I can't see when it comes to the pack. But there is something brewing with Sue and Charlie, there is more to why Charlie was happy to have a funeral for Bella. I think he wants to ask Sue to marry him; he wants to ask me to put on the wedding like I did for Bella and Edward."

"Charlie and Sue? Really? That progressed slowly. They were together all last year after the problem with the Volturi." He sounded genuinely surprised. They really had gone about this really slow, but I guess it was better safe than sorry. Charlie and Renée divorced at a young age, only in their early twenties. At the same time Sue had been married to her husband Harry for such a long time before Harry died of a heart attack a couple years ago. For them to get married it seemed like a safe idea for them to wait and see how things developed first. Sue had begun staying over with Charlie about six months back but that stopped about a month ago when thing started up with Renée coming to Forks.

The night passed and the sun began to rise. When the sun was finally over the horizon I had a vision of Edward and Bella returning home from Olympia. They arrived home shortly after twelve and the first thing Bella did was raced to see her daughter; Edward embrassed Carlisle and Esme. The day was slow as we tried to get back to the pressing matter of Nathaniel and my visions of my past. While in Olympia Edward took advantage of the larger library and did some research as best he could.

"It seems that our friend Nathaniel is older than most. He seems to have been born some three hundred years before Christ. He was born in Greece and was named Polycrites. As a human he was particularly brutal and he became governor of one of the cities. He was turned into a vampire and disappeared off the books around the time of Christ. The first mention of Nathaniel was in the year 1100 in the Normandy region. He appears to have gone to England where he lived until the late 1700's when he moved to the Americas." Edward explained all of this in a very subdue voice.

"We need to find out why he went to India. Does he work for the Volturi or was he only doing a personal favor for Caius? Most importantly, why was he in Biloxi. Silas wasn't known for being particularly friendly to other vampires; I can't imagine him being friends with Nathaniel." Carlisle seemed more worried now than he ever had been since I received the vision. "We will keep looking for more information and Alice will continue trying to search her own memory for more clues. Meanwhile, I want Emmett to team up with members of the pack and do patrols. We need to know if anything is coming after Alice." All fell silent after this last edict; it seemed like only yesterday Jasper and I found the Cullens asking to become family.


	4. Chapter 4

Faith

The news trickled in from the hospital since 10 AM. Everyone in the house was shocked; Bella was beside herself. How could I have not seen this coming? This didn't make me feel better about the impending situation with Nathaniel. Mike was on a hiking expedition when he was suddenly attacked by an animal. He was transported to the hospital where Carlisle began trying to heal him. It didn't look good, in the two hours after the accident Mike's condition was stabilized but still dire. Emmett and Jasper went hunting to see if they could follow the sent of whatever it was that attacked Mike. The pack joined Emmett and Jasper in trying to find whatever it was that made the attack. If it attacked one person, then nothing was stopping it from attacking more. The pack was immediately reminded of the attacks made by Victoria and Laurent three years ago while we were exiled by Edward's fear of hurting Bella.

None of us, especially Bella, were really close to Mike now that we were graduated and were rarely seen in the city. Mike still worked for his parents at their outdoor store while attending community college in Port Angeles. He dropped out of the University of Washington after only a semester due to poor grades and lack of funds. His relationship with Jessica, which had been on again off again since Bella first moved to Forks, seemed to be on the mend once again now that both were stuck in the greater Forks area. Jessica was beside herself when she heard the news of Mike's attack and according to Carlisle never left the hospital. It was impossible for Bella to go see Mike in the hospital since he was one of the few who was under the impression Bella was dead. Instead Rosalie offered to go for her and check on Mike.

"Don't worry Alice, we'll figure out what this is." Edward read my mind so clearly. He knew I was worried about the connection this might have with Nathaniel. It was no secret that the last time there was wild animal attacks in Forks that the locals blamed it on over sized bears and wolves. Nathaniel worked with werewolves in India, which made it all the more likely he might have finally made his move by sending some of those werewolves to Forks. The only thing that made it less likely was that the attack happened during the day and the moon was waning the night before.

It was a quarter after one when Carlisle called from the hospital to report that Mike Newton died. Bella seemed a little upset, but not nearly as bad as I expected her to be. She and I agreed to go hunting.

We went to our favorite spot where moose was known to be this time of year.

"What was it that killed Mike?" She abruptly asked.

"I don't know Bella, it could have been a wild animal or it could have been something else. Jazz and Emmett are working to figure that out with the pack."

"He wasn't my closest friend by any stretch, but I want to know what did this to him so I can kill it." Bella then squatted down and pounced on an un-expecting moose. She drained it within a few minutes. I took my time and found a healthy male who was still in his early teens. I attacked and had him drained in a matter of seconds, not savoring my kill the way I normally did.

"Don't worry Bella, when we find out what did this we will all want to take it down. None of us take pleasure in seeing a human attacked and killed, especially if it was by something supernatural."

We walked back to the house slowly, almost at a human pace and said nothing at all. When we reached the house we walked in through the kitchen and I could hear that Jazz and Emmett were back; Jacob and Seth were at the house as well. They sat together comparing notes from their tracking expedition; apparently they didn't go together, but rather split up to cover more ground. The thought of Jasper out there hunting this unknown beast made me a little fearful for him, but he could handle himself. We got into the lower living room where everyone was sitting.

"We didn't recognize the sent as anything indigenous to this area." Jacob explained.

"Don't worry; we didn't recognize the sent either." Emmett seemed a little disturbed by the idea he didn't know what he was hunting.

Then Carlisle interceded into their conversation, "I think its time we contact Eleazar up in the Denali. He worked with the Volturi for so long, maybe he knows the sent of whatever this was. All we know is that Alice didn't see it coming and the wounds left on Mike leave no doubt that he was shredded by whatever attacked him."

We all sat quietly for a moment; it was all what we feared. Mike Newton had gone into the woods by himself and as he walked back to his car he was attacked by something that didn't just bite him, but shredded him with claws. He was found at his car by another hiker about three minutes after the attack. Carlisle was on duty when the hiker brought Mike into the hospital, but said the hiker didn't stick around for long when people at the hospital were able to recognize Mike. His parents were called and they called Jessica, all of whom arrived at the hospital shortly after Mike was brought in. Carlisle had enough time to examine Mike and even he didn't recognize the sent on the body. He thought it might have been a wolf or bear that attacked Mike.

Before we could settle down from these disturbing thoughts there was a knock at our door. Charlie dressed in his uniform stood at the front of our door with a grim look on his face.

"Carlisle, I was hoping to catch you here. Something has happened in Port Angeles that can't be explained. We told them to fly the victims to Forks and that you would personally over see their case." Charlie took his eyes off Carlisle for a moment and looked into the milky brown eyes of his daughter. His stern look disappeared as he stared for a moment at Bella. Within a matter of seconds tears began to swell in Charlie's eyes and he slowly opened his mouth once more.

"Bella, dear, I…I'm sorry but its Angela and Ben. They were in Port Angeles for the weekend before heading back to school. They were found mugged in the back of a warehouse this morning; they were in such terrible pain. They kept complaining of being on fire though there is no visible damage of burn marks on their bodies." He turned his eyes back to Carlisle, who was standing at the door with his black bag and white doctor's coat in hand. His eyes were fierce; he knew what the matter was. He shot a glance at Edward who immediately joined him at his side. They were going to the hospital to bring Angela and Ben home to join our family as new born vampires. The struggles we expected with Bella would come to us twice as bad with two new vampires who knew nothing of the rules or our existence. We all stood stunned and Charlie looked around at us all taking a moment to figure out what we all knew instantly.

"Come Charlie, we must get to the hospital immediately and take them out and bring them back to our home. We have no time to spare." Carlisle was stern with his address to Charlie, but Charlie knew it was urgent and didn't put up a fight. The three men left the house and went to Charlie's cruiser. Carlisle insisted on Edward driving and again Charlie put up no fight.

"Come, we need to prepare for our new family members. They will be disoriented when they wake." Jasper knew what to expect, decades of making and training new vampires gave him the knowledge we so desperately needed at this moment. Before any of us could begin to feel the effects of such a horrible day Jasper used his power to calm us all down for the challenges still ahead of us.

Bella and I began by cleaning out one of the studies to make into a safe room for Angela. I snuck into her home and gathered some of her things so that we could place them in her room; hoping we could calm her down. Meanwhile, Jasper and Emmett made another room for Ben. We put hospital beds with restraints in both rooms. Esme and Rosalie brought morphine into both rooms for use on Angela and Ben. They meanwhile cleaned up the rest of the house. The last time either of them encountered a true new born was when Emmett was made. Emmett by their accounts was a reckless danger to the family until Rosalie and Edward could calm him down. They did not want this to be the case again, not with the Volturi watching our moves ever so closely and an unknown danger lurking in the woods responsible for Mike's death. We placed as much morphine into both rooms as we could find throughout the house. Within a few hours we had two studies completely outfitted for two new born vampires to occupy while they adjusted to their new life.

All of us slowly made our way back to the living room and lounged around until Carlisle was able to secure Angela and Ben. At that point Edward and Carlisle would have time to sneak the two out of the hospital to allow the transformation to finish here. By what we knew the process was just over a day old and that gave precious little time to deliver Angela and Ben to our house.

"Why haven't they been able to get them out the hospital yet?" Bella asked impatiently; Angela had been her closest friend since arriving in Forks.

"Don't worry Bella, Carlisle has everything under control and will get them here as soon as is possible." Esme attempted to reassure Bella, but it didn't seem like it was really working. Bella's face will still construed in a way that anyone could see the hurt in her as her closest friend was undergoing the transformation against her own free will. Jasper finally used his ability to calm Bella down, but he obviously felt my anxiety for what was happening because I soon felt his affects.

"They're coming home." I let out with enthusiasm.

"Finally." Rosalie seemed impatient too, probably nervous about adding new members to our family. From what my vision showed me it would take Carlisle and Edward thirty minutes to finally get here. They were currently securing Ben and Angela, preparing to whisk them out of the hospital. Of course this was all dependent on whether the chief of staff at the hospital, the first doctor to care for Angela and Ben when they were brought in, didn't decide to move them to another area of the hospital without telling Carlisle. I had been watching Dr. Alexander since Charlie came to inform us about Angela and Ben. My fear was that Dr. Alexander would prevent us from saving Ben and Angela. At this point it was still up in the air. Dr. Alexander was still contemplating what he was going to do and whether or not to just let Carlisle handle the situation. Dr. Alexander was relieved when Carlisle came in because he knew nothing about their condition. As soon as Carlisle found where Dr. Alexander was at he told him that he had seen the case one other time when he was in Chicago. Dr. Alexander happily handed over the patients to Carlisle, but because of his close connections to Ben's parents he was contemplating taking back over Ben. Unfortunately their condition only seemed to worsen which lead him to believe Carlisle was no better able to help them than he was.

At a quarter after three in the afternoon Carlisle and Edward burst through the door raced Angela and Ben up to their respective rooms. They were sedated with morphine still from the hospital but it didn't look good. Bella and Emmett helped restrain Angela and Ben and then all four, Bella, Edward, Carlisle and Emmett came down to the living room.

"They are far enough a long that it won't be long now. We need to try and keep any humans from coming to the house for a couple of weeks until we have explained the rules and attempted to get them fixed on animal blood. While I was at the hospital I had Edward go to the local butcher and buy up all the extra pigs' blood that he had. We'll try and get them hooked on that until we let them out of their rooms. I can't say whether or not Reneesme will be in any danger. Until then, Bella, we need to let Jasper watch over her whenever she is in the house. Rosalie and Emmett will spend their time watching over Ben and Angela. Bella, Edward and Alice will be on security detail. Alice and Jasper will remain in the house and Alice will watch for any one coming over. Edward will patrol near the turn off onto the road and listen for anyone who is looking to come over. Bella, it will be your responsibility to be with Charlie as much as possible." Carlisle gave us our marching orders and we prepared ourselves for the coming of our two new family members.

In the time we waited Carlisle tried to help Emmett and Jasper continue looking for our mysterious attacker. Charlie shut down all the paths until further notice to prevent anyone else from getting hurt. It was still puzzling to us all that no one, not any of us nor could the pack identify the sent of Mike's killer. I felt helpless and lost that I couldn't figure out the connection Nathaniel had to my dreams; was it a warning or just my memory finally freeing itself? Things seemed to be falling down around my family and me ever since returning to Forks.

It took two more days for Ben and Angela to finally complete the transformation. When they awoke they struggled with their restraints demanding to know what happened. Carlisle, one at a time, explained to them what had happened and asked if they could remember anything from the night they were attacked. They took the news of their condition quite well and attempted to piece together anything that happened that night.

"We were walking in Port Angeles, down a dark street…" Ben struggled to think of the events.

"We were laughing and carrying on…That's when we first noticed someone was following us." Angela explained independently.

"I thought he just wanted my wallet and her purse. We kept walking in hopes that maybe he was just a lost drunk and really meant no harm to us. Then we turned the corner and he vanished. By the next street he reappeared, this time in front of us. We got close to the street light he was under and we could see his eyes…they were red."

"We stopped dead in our tracks, Ben tried to help us escape but the man was too fast. He cut us off and just asked to see our wrists" Angela showed us her right wrist, it had teeth marks, "He bit into me and stopped almost as quickly as he sunk his teeth in. Then he did the same to Ben. Almost immediately the fire began to burn and we both collapsed on the street. A few hours later we were found by a man walking to work; he called the ambulance. When they saw we were both from Forks they decided to rush us here." Angela completed the story; she glared out into nothing.

Carlisle brought them both packets of pig's blood and instructed them to eat. Angela still was unable to grasp that we were vampires; she asked herself repeatedly how she could have missed it. She was both shocked and happy to know that Bella wasn't dead and that it all had been a ruse to get Renée off her back. From what I could over hear, Ben had the same reaction when he finally saw Bella. He was ecstatic that she was still alive and that she would be able to spend eternity with Angela and him. Bella took on the role of the parent in this case, telling both that she could only be around them as long as they agreed to only feed on animals and never on people. Not wanting their closest friend to leave them again, both readily agreed never to feed on humans and to live by the Cullen way.

As they grew accustomed to their new life they were allowed out of their rooms and allowed to roam the house. This gave the rest of us time to continue investigating Mike's death and the problems with Nathaniel. Eleazar called Carlisle and gave him as much information about Nathaniel as he could. Of course we were told about his early life as Polycrites. What we didn't know was that Nathaniel works personally for Caius since the year 410 A.D. Last Eleazar heard, Nathaniel was stationed in India to hunt werewolves. Caius was upset that Nathaniel allowed me to slip through James' fingers and into the hands of the Cullens. This set us back a little; we were all a little worried that Nathaniel's real job was to recruit werewolves who were willing to work for vampires. Carlisle speculated that Caius, who never cared for Carlisle, wanted to destroy our family. For a while we have been the largest and most powerful coven outside of the Volturi. Caius, Carlisle hypothesized, was eager to shore up their power by destroying us.

This was a hard pill to swallow, the idea that the Volturi secretly had someone out trying to kill us. Of course if Aro ever found out about this he probably would put a stop to it immediately. I felt sick that my past was not only catching up to me but to my family as well. They had done nothing wrong; I chose them, they never stole me. I knew I would eventually have to confront Caius and his brothers about this but I didn't know how. I couldn't just sit here hoping to let the Volturi walk back into Forks to battle us.

The weight bearing down on us was incredible, not even Jasper's amazing power and love for me could comfort me. Bella could see the despair in my eyes and offered to go with me to Olympia or Seattle for a shopping trip. As tempting as the offer was, I declined her invitation. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. I was confident that it had to be a member of the pack because I didn't want to let myself think it was because I was so self- absorbed that I had failed to see.

"Hello Jacob, Leah. Please come in." Bella gestured as she moved out of the way for Leah Clearwater and Jacob Black to enter the house. Leah's little brother was already here, he practically lived here.

"Thank you Bella." Leah seemed more at ease and more hospitable to Bella than she had in ages; I was a bit skeptical.

"What brings you two over to our humble home?" Carlisle quickly raced to the door to be a proper host.

"We heard that you have two new members of the family and Sam asked if Leah and I could come over and meet them. He appreciates the care you have shown after that blood sucker did this to them." Jacob was more polite to us than ever, but at times he could still show a little hostility to our brethren. He stood firm, obviously smelling the Angela and Ben who were upstairs.

"Tell Sam that it was my pleasure to help anyone who was in need, especially for what has happened. As you might know, my children went to school here in Forks with these two; their names are Ben and Angela."

At the top of the stairs Ben and Angela appeared, they glared down at our guests. They still were attempting to grow accustomed to Seth's smell, now they had to deal with three shape shifters. They walked slowly down the stairs and Ben was the first to speak.

"Jacob Black, I should have known there was something peculiar about you as well. I surely would have thought Edward could have taken you easily in a fight, now I know it would have been much closer than I thought." Ben seemed a bit smug towards our brother in arms. Angela stood quietly beside him, when Jacob and Leah stretch out their hands to shake theirs they hesitated but Angela quickly grabbed Leah's and then Jacob's. The tension in the room was thick as butter. After they shook hands that tension left the room and house quickly and we all made our way into the living room.

"You have other news for us." Edward quickly stated as Jacob and Leah walked into the room and sat near Nessie.

"We do, and it concerns everyone." Jacob looked down at Nessie, who smiled back up at Jacob. Edward took Bella's hand; I could tell if he wanted to restrain her or comfort her but his eyes never unlocked from Jacob's. The room sat quiet for too long while the two alphas who once competed for the heart of Bella stared at each other. Edward picked the brain of Jacob and Leah while his face went from anger, to sadness, to happiness.

"Congratulations." Edward responded with a wide smile, the rest of us waited for an explanation.


	5. Chapter 5

Reprieve

We were all clueless as to why Edward congratulated Jacob and Leah and then it hit me. I saw Jacob standing at the front of an aisle dressed in a tux looking back at someone; next to him stood the pack and in front of him stood a fellow tribesman. From my left I saw the image of beautiful Native women walking past me holding flowers and dressed in long flowing gowns. To my right was Jasper; in front of us were Bella, Edward and Reneesme. It was clear, this was a vision of Jacob and Leah...getting married. When I snapped to everyone had taken their gaze off Jacob and Leah and squarely placed it on me. This is something I had gotten use to since becoming a Cullen, yet it never got any less scary than the first time it happened. I smiled briefly and turned my head away from their strong eyes.

"What brings you to our home, Jacob?" Carlisle said quickly.

"Oh you know nothing really. Just got bored hanging back at the res and thought I'd come here to see what was happening. Any news?" Jacob seemed to be trying to act as cool as possible in his response to Carlisle; he clearly wanted to avoid why he had brought Leah with him. Leah stood cautiously on his arm; she never did warm up to us. To be frank, we Cullens never particularly cared for any one of the tribesmen except for maybe Jacob.

"Really, is that all? You wanted to meet Ben and Angela and find out if we had anymore news?" Carlisle spoke while staring at Edward and me.

Edward was the first to speak, "Jacob, should I tell them or will you? We both know you had no interest in coming over to meet Ben and Angela and you certainly don't need an update from us about the way things aren't progressing."

"You're right Edward. Bella, everyone, Leah and I have an announcement to make. When Reneesme was born and I saw her I thought that I had imprinted on her as you all know. But I was wrong; I didn't imprint on her. I think I was caught up in the emotion of Bella's transformation and the birth of Reneesme. For a while now I have known deep down that Leah and I are meant to be together." Jacob starred at Bella the whole time he spoke and then Leah opened her mouth to speak.

"We are getting married in two months on the reservation. We hope that you all can come; you have been as a second family to us. Despite my behavior towards you all, you have been nothing but kind to me." She looked sincere and as soon as she finished Carlisle accepted the invitation and told her that all of us would be attending the wedding. As soon as he was finished everyone broke up and went back to doing other things. Bella and I got back to work after a long off time searching for more information about Nathaniel.

Rosalie and Jasper took to helping Angela and Ben continue growing accustomed to their new life. Meanwhile, Emmett went with Jacob to see if they could find any evidence of other vampires in the area. Carlisle and Edward shuffled through the information Carlisle had collected over the years, and the information given to him by his friends. Meanwhile, Esme, Bella and I went hunting near the Canada border.

A few days past and Charlie came over to see Bella and Reneesme, he had allowed for a little time since the funeral. We had all thought it prudent for Charlie to spend a few days away so that in the event Renee called he wouldn't have to lie about the fact Bella was still alive, sorta. He spent most of his days on the reservation with Sue while we attempted to get back to life as close to normal as was possible. Unfortunately Nathanial still alluded us; we found absolutely no information about him we hadn't already found out. Carlisle was beginning to believe he would have to make a trip to visit with the Volturi, although he was certain at least one if not all three of the Vampire lords were aware of the events unfolding in Forks.

To my surprise Jacob and Leah asked me to plan their wedding for them since neither was altogether very creative with such things. Jacob lead on that he insisted I do the wedding after the job I did for Bella's graduation party and funeral. They gave me two months to plan it, the only things I didn't need were the preacher and the church since a Quileute shaman was going to prefer a traditional Quileute ceremony within a modern religious wedding. Carlisle insisted that Bella and I focus on putting together the wedding than spending time worrying about Nathanial. Bella was becoming more and more of a sister than she already was. She never tired of being by my side, doing absolutely everything to be there for me. She was my voice of reason in planning out the wedding; "These are Native Americans who enjoy celebrating the ways of their ancestors" she scolded me one time looking at things for the reception. Leah decided to wear a traditional Quileute wedding dress and Jacob was going to wear his dad's wedding tux. I used Bella as a model to find the perfect color and style for the brides maids dresses, which we'd both be wearing as we were both asked by Leah to be two of her four maids. Jacob in turn asked Edward and Jasper to be two of his groomsmen, along with all the members of the pack. No amount of convincing could be used to have Leah expand her brides maids out to the same number as Jacob's groomsmen. Her argument was the same; she only had four friends in the world.

Throughout the whole time the pack continued their patrol finding no evidence of the beasts that attack Bella's friends a few months ago. Emmett and Jasper couldn't find anything on their own patrol either and this worried Carlisle and the tribal elders. Nothing could get in the way of the wedding but everyone still had the attacks in the back of their minds. Angela and Ben were of almost no use, they were attacked from behind and only could remember how much it hurt. Most of their memories were clouded by the vampire bite that turned them; all of us, even Carlisle remember the bite like it had only happened moments ago.

As the wedding day grew closer the pack only sent out two or three on patrol while the others did what they could to help Leah and Jacob prepare for their wedding. From my end everything was completed with three weeks to spare and in perfect shape. I became worried about weather patterns as it seemed a system over Alaska might slip down and dump a few inches of rain on us a day before the wedding. Three days out I began to worry less as I discovered that the front wasn't going to reach down after all. I kept searching for any signs of trouble from the mysterious beast or even Nathanial but found nothing. Leah began to worry slightly and asked me if I saw any future troubles for her and Jacob. Rather than lying I told her the truth, I saw the same ups and downs for any married couple but they will die of old age together.

Two days before the wedding Bella and I kidnapped Leah to go up to Olympia with us for a day of fun and merriment. She felt a bit awkward with just the two of us vampires as she had not yet fully grown accustomed to us and still felt the natural animosity for our kind. By the time we finished partying, and shopping I think she was far more at ease around us as she was willing to transform into her other form for the run home.

The day finally arrived and all of us made our way to the reservation for what was certainly going to be an interesting affair. Not all of the tribe members were aware of our existence, or that their legends were true. All that they knew was the Cullens were not to be looked upon in a kind manner, and we were never allowed on their reservation except under specific circumstances. This was one of those circumstances, nearly the whole tribe was invited and going to attend the wedding with the entire Cullen family and Chief Swan in attendance as well. Bella and I arrived at 2 p.m., nearly two hours before the wedding thinking it was plenty of time. To our amazement when we arrived Leah was already dressed and ready to walk down the aisle. Bella was amazed in particular as Leah had asked Charlie to give her away.

"Hey Bella, I hope you don't mind I asked Charlie to give me away." Leah seemed sincere that she hoped Bella wouldn't mind, not because she was afraid Bella would try to kill her but out of a simple sign of respect between two creatures.

"It's ok Leah, I think its wonderful you asked Charlie. But why are you ready? I mean the wedding doesn't start until 4. I doubt Jacob is prepared yet, I bet he's still trying to put the tux on." By this point Bella and I were sitting in the only two recliners in Leah and Jacob's brand new home.

"You look beautiful Leah, I'm sure Jacob will adore you." I said. I didn't want Leah to think she had to answer Bella's question.

The time passed quickly though, we played a few games and joked around. The other two brides maids, members of the Quileute tribe and friends with Leah seemed a bit more on guard with Bella and I than Leah. Their names were Elizabeth and Mary, neither were remotely aware of our existence let alone of Leah's true nature. They heard the same stories all the Quileute knew, that their people were descendent of wolves and supposedly their tribal elders had made a pack with us Cullens that we would never step foot on their land.

Finally the ceremony was to start. Elizabeth was the maid of honor, but to our amazement Leah asked that Bella and I stand second and third in line. The ceremony was a beautiful hybrid of the traditional and new, just as Jacob and Leah always seemed to be. As soon as the ceremony was over we all head over to the reservation's community center where I had set up the reception with great care; fifty tables, each with a white, red and blue rose in the middle as well as lobster and steak for dinner. Those of us in the wedding party decided to eat so as not to cause any suspicions. To make it easier for us, Bella asked the cook to make our steaks raw. The blood from the meat made the steak task almost edible. I of course made sure there was plenty of wine so we could wash the dirt taste away.

Bella and Jacob shared a dance together to a Kid Rock song. The reception lasted well into the night and people slowly began to break up around one. Jacob and Leah were going down to Las Angeles for their two night honeymoon. The rest of the pack helped clean up the reception before going on a quick patrol with Emmett and Jasper. The rest of us returned to our home eager to begin working again on our business. Carlisle announced he would go to visit the Volturi by the end of the month even though he believed it in vain.


	6. Chapter 6

Discovery

It was two weeks and Carlisle decided if we were ever going to find more information about Nathanial it would have to be through the Volturi's extensive library of vampires. Carlisle knew the danger of going to Volturerra, particularly from Caius. Bella and I decided we would go back to Biloxi to find any additional information we could about my time at St. Rita's. This time Jasper and Edward would take along and I was set on letting Catherine know of my travel plans. Emmett and Rosalie agreed to stay in Forks along with Ben and Angela. We all pushed Esme to go with Carlisle, she had never seen Italy and they so rarely had time to themselves. About a week later she finally relented and agreed to travel to Italy with Carlisle.

Bella had a difficult time deciding whether or not to bring Nessie with us or to leave her with Jacob or her father. Even though no one had been attacked for two months Bella was still afraid for Nessie's safety and finally concluded to bring her. Charlie agreed with Bella's decision, saying to her, "If something goes wrong, you as her mother will be able to stop her from being hurt."

All the travel arrangements were made by Carlisle who decided it was best if we took a car out to Mississippi rather than fly. He and Esme would fly first class with Continental; they never did have their honeymoon and Carlisle was intent on making it one. We left on Tuesday with Edward driving. We flew through Idaho and into Utah, then across to Colorado in a day and a half. Edward let Jasper drive the next leg so that he and I could sit in the front; Jasper is a fast driver but nothing like Edward it took us two days to make it through Kansas and Arkansas before we stopped to allow Nessie a chance to stretch her legs and for all of us to feed. Bella and I didn't stop in Arkansas at all when we last went to Mississippi, and what a meal we missed. The deer in Arkansas was far more enjoyable than what we have in the northwest. Bella decided to get Nessie to eat regular food since she had been drinking blood for so long. When we arrived at Catherine's house, we wanted Nessie to fit in as best as possible.

"Only about three more hours before we reach Mississippi" Edward said with full stock and grin on his face.

"Should we just stay the night here in Arkansas?" Jasper inquired. It was nice to have Jasper here not only for the company but he knew these areas like none of us. His early life was spent in the southern part of the United States, which could come in handy when it came time to eat.

"I think it might be best, Nessie hasn't had a full night's rest in a bed for some time now. Besides, I know I could use some more blood before we reach Mississippi." Bella was very adamant, but I knew where she was coming from. I was starved just as she was and I knew Jasper was as well. Edward had over stuffed himself before we left Forks, whatever his reasons were for doing so he finished off three grizzlies before we left. When we switch towns, on sunny days, Carlisle would take us out of school for camping trips though we always stayed home or went hunting. However, in order to make it look as though we really were going camping we acquired a number of camping utensils. Edward and Jasper unloaded the trunk with all the camping items in it; we brought a tent for Nessie to sleep in as well as cooking utensils so that we could cook for her as well. Bella and Edward not only insisted that Nessie act like a normal child around my grand nieces and nephews, but in general believed it best to raise her as a normal child. Anyone who knew Bella and Edward's true identities would never believe Nessie was a normal human child; we planned to tell Catherine the truth, Nessie was conceived when Bella was human.

"Who is going to make a trip into town to get Nessie human food?" Jasper asked.

"I'll go since I still remember human food…." Bella joked with us over our age, she always did that.

"Oh, can I go too? Leave the boys here to set up camp." I said it a split second before Edward offered to go with her. I wanted to see the town and figured Bella and I would have more fun than if Edward went; not to mention I didn't look forward to setting up camp. We were staying just outside of Little Rock, by about fifteen minutes. Bella and I decided to take the car so we didn't look too suspicious walking around with a bunch of groceries.

"Hrm, Wal Mart?" I looked at Bella with a twisted expression on my lips. I'm very good with shopping for food and I never go to Wal Mart for anything I'd wear.

"Um, yea that will work." Bella wasn't entirely convincing.

We pulled into Wal Mart's parking lot and found a space. I walked slower than usual namely because I didn't want to go in but I made the offer to go with her so I had no other choice.

"I finally got you into one of my stores!" she said enthusiastically.

"Shut up and find what you need, I don't want to be here anymore." I tried to look as angry as I could, but when it comes to Bella, Edward or Jasper anger isn't in my vocabulary.

A vision hit.

"_Carlisle! Old friend, how are you?"_

_ "Hello Aro, I'm well. I would like to introduce you to…"_

_ "Your wife, Esme. How do you do?"_

_ "Very well thank you. It is an honor to stand before you three."_

_ "Aro, I apologize but our visit isn't for pleasure. I came to ask permission into the library of records in search of a vampire named Nathanial who may have lived in Biloxi, Mississippi and worked for the Volturi."_

_ Alice, is everything ok? Alice, wake up!!_

"Oh sorry. I just had a vision; Carlisle is with the Volturi asking permission from Aro to view the library." I said, still dazed.

"Ok, we should get back to Edward and Jasper then. I have all the things we should need for tonight and tomorrow." Bella said as she dragged me to the register to pay for about twenty things.

Still dazed, I let Bella drive us back to the campsite; I wanted a moment to pour over the things I just saw. Surely Carlisle would call us as soon as he found anything out.

_Caius wasn't there. _

"Bella. When I saw Carlisle and Esme they were with Aro but Caius wasn't there." I sounded panicked.

"It's ok Alice, he was probably just off doing something in other parts of the castle."

"Their always together, Bella, why wouldn't Caius appear in his chair?" I wasn't getting any less panicked. Bella sped up to get back to Jasper, where he could easily put me at ease. While we raced past trees I received another vision, Carlisle was calling Edward.

We arrived back at the site and I jumped from the car while it was still moving. I reached Edward just as he picked up the phone. "It's Carlisle" he said, "Let me put it on speaker phone so Alice and everyone can hear."

"Ok." Carlisle's voice boomed from the phone.

"Aro is going to allow me to view the archives in the library. Caius has left Voluterra and won't be back for a few days. Aro didn't seem too alarmed that I wanted to find more out about Nathanial. When I mentioned that Nathanial lived in Mississippi and may have worked for the Volturi he simply acknowledged both. He told me that Nathanial had been let go by the Volturi because of his work with werewolves." Carlisle was saying this all very slowly so we could grasp it.

"Does he suspect Nathanial is behind the attacks in Forks?" Bella remembered faster than us all that Aro could read Carlisle's mind.

"He does, and he believes Caius may still be working with him. Caius is upset we were able to peacefully end our hostilities and may be seeking revenge through Nathanial." Carlisle's message was both a comfort and a distress to me. "I have to go, Esme and I are being allowed into the library and cell phones don't work in there. I will call as soon as we are out."

Edward clicked the off button on the phone to disconnect from the call. We stared at each other for a few moments; Edward wanted to collect our thoughts.

"No Jasper, I don't think Aro is trying to set Carlisle up. Carlisle has done too much to protect Aro in the past; I don't think he will try to harm him." Edward seemed so certain, but only Edward knew Carlisle's inner most thoughts. "Alice, I want you to try and spy on Esme and Carlisle in the library only so we know they are safe."

Bella had already walked away to tend to Nessie's dinner. Jasper and Edward decided we would leave for Biloxi as early in the morning as we could. I used the phone to call Catherine and let her know we were coming to visit; she was quite happy to hear that. I lied and told her we just wanted to come visit; we had already worked out that two of us at a time would search around town for information that may help us.


	7. Chapter 7

Memories

It was determined on our way into town that we'd all go visit Catherine today so that she knew each of us, rather than simply surprise her with all five. I was nervous for Catherine, she knew what Bella and I are but didn't mean she'd be able to handle four vampires and one half breed. To complicate matters one of Catherine's daughters was home from school that day; she was in high school making and older than her siblings. We each had reservations about her being there; could she handle the fact that her grandmother's sister, who died years before, was a vampire? These worries only amplified as we drove up to Catherine's house and pulled into the drive way. The weather was rainy, which was expected for the next four days.

"Alice, it is great to see you again. And Bella! Oh how great it is to see you two. And you brought your husbands? And the little one, how cute." Catherine came out of her house to greet us. Her daughter was standing in the door way, she looked worried.

"Thank you, Catherine. It is great to see you too. This is my husband Jasper, and that striking image over there is my brother Edward; he is Bella's husband. The little one is Bella's daughter, we all call her Nessie." I smiled and hugged my niece.

"Please, you should all come in. Make yourselves at home; it is only my daughter and I here this week. My husband is away on business." She said as she gestured to the front door where her daughter stood in horrified shock. It was unclear to me whether or not Catherine had told her family what we were, but her daughter was terrified of us nonetheless. Who wouldn't be? We were pale white and a slight shimmer to our skin as the sun behind the clouds attempted to poke through.

Jasper took my hand as we walked in; he could feel Catherine's daughter and how frightened she was of us. He and I took a seat on the love seat, while Edward and Bella sat on the floor with Nessie. Catherine and her daughter sat on the couch.

"Oh, I almost forgot. This is my daughter, her name is Vanessa." Catherine looked straight at me. "Vanessa, this is your great aunt Alice."

"Hello Vanessa." It was all II could muster for this frightened girl.

"He..He…Hell..Hello Aunt Alice." She said; her eyes as wide as the day.

"Alice, the last time you were here made me start to reminisce about my mother. When she was on her death bed she told me of some old family books that were in her attic and I retrieved them shortly after her death. I found at least sixteen photo albums and five of them had your name on them while three had both hers and yours name on them. They're in the closest down the hall if you would like to see them." Catherine was already standing up and I simply smiled; it had been ages since I had seen pictures of my sister. All I could remember of her were the flashes my memory gave me at random intervals.

"This may help us" Jasper smiled at me.

"Very much so; if you can recognize things in the photos your memory may help us around the town." Edward was excited at the possibility.

Catherine returned to the room with a box full of photo albums; it was clearly marked "Aunt Alice" on the side. "These are some of the albums with pictures primarily of you."

"Do you think I could see the albums with my sister and I?" I asked politely while I took the box she held and began looking at the albums.

"Certainly." Catherine replied.

"Let me get them" Edward was already on his feet and walking past her before she could say thank you. He returned with a box that bared mine and my sister's names on it. His face was twisted as he walked back to where Jasper and I were sitting.

"What's wrong daddy" Nessie asked as he rejoined her and Bella.

"Nothing dear…" He said without looking, instead keeping his eyes on me. "I have something I need to tell you Alice, and I don't know if you will like it."

I grew anxious, "Tell me Edward. Is it about my sister and I?" I asked

"It is. And about Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett and myself actually; you see after Emmett's encounter with the bear it was decided by Carlisle that we should move. So in the fall of 1925, a year to the day after Emmett had been turned, we moved to Biloxi. While here Carlisle was granted permission to practice medicine outside of the hospitals. I was to join him as his medical student, and the brother to his wife Esme. Emmett and Rosalie joined us a few weeks after we settled and presented themselves as borders at our home. One whole wing of the house was dedicated to Carlisle's profession. In the year 1930 we were visited by many people seeking Carlisle's assistance with a number of ailments. Your parents brought you and your sister to see Carlisle for your annual checkup that year. The depression hurt your family as it did most and they didn't have the money to take you to a hospital." I interrupted Edward with a screech.

"I'm sorry Edward, but how could you have forgotten this?" I immediately demanded.

"Alice, you see you look different than you did back then and it was only when I saw a picture of you and your sister together that I realized why Carlisle and I were so distraught by not knowing any information though it seemed we knew something. Your parents brought you to us for the next five years. One year you came down with Scarlet Fever, I believe the year was 1933, and you stayed with us for three weeks. I always thought you suspected us to be more than what we said but I never pressed you to find out. Carlisle and Esme were enamored with you; you were like the daughter they never had. But after 1935 we never really saw you or your family very often. They never brought you back as the hospitals began reducing their prices enough that people could go there on a regular basis again. Rosalie and I went walking one day and spotted you and your sister in an ice cream shop. I read your mind that day; you had just had your first vision but resolved not to tell anyone anything. The year was 1941, and the vision was that of you as one of us. Two weeks later you turned 15 and had another vision; your father's infidelity. By 1943 we were gone, we moved to Forks for the first time. That same year two new vampires came to town, although only one presented themselves to us upon learning of our true nature. Dr. Greene made no qualms about informing us that he was working with the Volturi and that Aro spoke highly of a strange vampire named Carlisle Hough who refused to eat humans. Carlisle thought it would be safer if we simply left town and it was Esme who found Forks. I made a final visit to you the night before we left. I slipped into your room and placed a bracelet on your arm; it was one of two that belong to my mother. It was your seventeenth birthday."

I instinctively touched the bracelet that had been on my arm ever since I first woke up without a memory of who or where I was. If I could cry I would have but instead I just stared down at the floor. I felt safe somehow; I was comforted by the fact that my sweet brother Edward had watched over me, even when I was a mere human.

Jasper's attention returned to my niece. "Catherine, do you recall any stories in the news about people being mauled by animals?"

"Why yes, I do but they are old. In 1985, I think it was, there were a rash of hikers found dead, mauled by wolves if I remember correctly. The authorities were baffled since wolves haven't been indigenous to this area in over a hundred years. "Catherine seemed confused by this strain of thought.

"Edward, what if there were werewolves in this area and Nathaniel was sent here to tame them? Were there any like attacks in the area when you lived here?" Jasper was getting at something.

"There was some talk around town but the papers kept it silent." Edward caught on to what Jasper was getting at now as well.

"I think I need to get Carlisle here. The three of us need to go to the old house and see if anything there can jog your memory or give us clues about what happened after we left." Edward turned his attention to me. I thought it was a great idea; maybe I could remember something about the time I spent at the Cullen home while I was still human. Then again I was terrified at what we might find there; could there still be wolves living there?

Edward got up and went outside to make the call to see if Carlisle and Esme would leave and come to Biloxi. He was only outside for a moment and before he stepped in I saw Carlisle decide to come to Biloxi.

"He said they'll come. Aro has been a great help to them but they haven't been able to find much information. Caius seems to have had dealings with Nathaniel in the past but there isn't any record of what those dealings were about and it doesn't seem like they have done anything in the last 20 years." Edward said as he sat back down next to Bella and Nessie.

Two days passed before Carlisle and Esme were in town. Esme showed up at Catherine's house and informed Edward and I that Carlisle would meet us at the old house. Carlisle suspected that only having Edward and him with me would spark my memories of the house since I rarely encountered Esme or anyone else while there. Catherine was excited to meet Esme, and was grateful that her aunt had found someone willing to be a mother like figure in this life to me.

Edward and I left shortly after Esme's arrival letting her tell us as much as she could about their time with the Volturi. She gave us the keys to her car and we were off to the house I once spent three weeks of my life in.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to tell you about our stay in Biloxi Alice" Edward said without looking at me, "we never intended to hide it from you, but you have to understand that the way you look now is completely different than how any of us can remember you."

"It's alright Edward, you're still the bestest big brother anyone could ever hope for." I smiled at him, I was honest.

We drove down a long winding road through trees until we reached a clearing a giant brick house stood in the distance. Outside was a giant sign that said, "Home of Dr. Carlisle Cullen, MD."

"This is it" Edward told me.

"I don't recognize it." I said, half to myself in disappointment.

"We can't expect you to remember something that quickly, Alice."

"I know, I just wish I could remember more than quick flashes that make no sense to me is all."

We drove up to the front door; the house still looked as though people lived in it. I wasn't certain, but I didn't think that it was good that it looked like this. Edward looked at me as he was preparing to get out of the car. From the front door I could see Carlisle coming out. I stepped out of the car and embraced Carlisle.

"Aro sends his love and regret." Carlisle said while we were embraced.

"Regret?" Edward responded for me.

"He is certain that Caius has nothing to do with what is happening to us but I think he fears deep down that he might be the root of our issues." Carlisle and I unlocked from each other and proceeded up the stairs.

"I never thought we'd return to this house." Carlisle said; he looked worried.

"Someone has been staying in this house?" Edward asked, but it wasn't really a question.

"Yes. The smell is distinctly not vampire, nor human. I think it has to be dog but I'm not certain. It doesn't smell anything like the packs." Carlisle was looking back and forth between Edward and I.

We walked into the house and immediately we could smell what Carlisle said he smelled. It smelled of dog, but nothing like the packs. Instead it smelled different, a mix of human and dog but more dog than human. Almost like Bella smelled when she was still human and hung out with Jacob and the pack. Edward took me to the wing that was obviously the old medical wing of the house. It looked very much like a hospital still and didn't have the smell that the rest of the house had. We stopped at a room; it must have been the room I stayed in.

"Is this the room?" I asked Edward.

"Yes. You stayed in here for three weeks. It still has your smell to it. We never put anyone else in here after you left us." Edward was staring blankly into the room.

A memory slowly entered my mind, it was of Edward. I remembered how I felt when I was around him, like he was my own personal angel. He was like a brother to me even back then. We stood in the room for some time; I looked around trying to find anything that might spark another memory for me.

"Any luck?" asked Carlisle.

"A little. I had a vision of me looking at Edward and Edward caring for me like a brother would a sister." I smiled and grabbed onto his arm.

"Good, then we're making progress."

We spent little over two hours in the house. The first hour and a half were spent in the medical reason for two reasons. First, we couldn't smell that disgusting dog smell as we could in the rest of the house. Second, I had a number of brief memories of myself in that wing when I was a child. I remembered the first time my parents brought me and my sister to the Cullen home for a checkup. I also remembered the day I left the home; I knew I would see them again. It was my most memorable memory, I could feel, taste and smell everything from that day. We also spent time going through the rest of the house. Carlisle wanted to see if there were any clues left over from the wolves and Edward wanted to look at the house and see if he had forgotten anything about it. The house was just as nice as our house in Forks or even Cambridge, Massachusetts. As the day wore on though we knew there was nothing left for us in Biloxi. We decided that it'd be best if we left town the following morning to get back to Washington. It was at that point that I had a vision. My niece and her daughter would follow us to Forks. My niece wanted to be as close to me as possible for as long as possible. She missed the feeling she had around my family; I was the lone survivor for her to be around. Her daughter wanted to become a vampire, she was do determined she rivaled only Bella's determination so many years ago. I would have to scold my niece for letting her know our true natures.


End file.
